Got boycotts?
There's a storm a' brewing in the heart of America these days, a welcome push back by the 99% against a cabal of greedy robber barons. From exploitative companies like Papa Johns and Applebee's to North Carolina's own insidious Variety Wholesalers, regular people are at long last voting with their pocketbooks.
Have you made any personal commitments to steer clear of certain merchants as part of your political activism? If so, please shout 'em out in the comments below. Over the next week, I'll capture all entries in a thread to make it easy for your to share and track who the bad guys are.
BlueNC is dedicated to making North Carolina a more progressive and prosperous state. If your intention is to disrupt this effort, please find somewhere else to express your opinions.
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Easy ones for me
Never again:
Harder ones:
Macy's
Have shopped there a few times. An easy drop ... hat tip to duh Donald.
I'm lucky
I have a couple of really good pizza places nearby who deliver (Sicilian style, no less). None of those crappy franchises can come close.
I still have a Wal-Mart problem though, but I'm working on it. I go there mainly for groceries anyway, since I don't have the extra cash to buy even cheap Chinese-made appliances or other housewares. Does anybody know anything about BJ's? I just got a membership there, but know nothing about their politics or labor practices.
Haven't been to
Haven't been to Roses or Chick-fil-A for a good while
Roses
I used to shop at the Chapel Hill Roses a lot ... and even went to Chick there in the mall when out with the family.
It has been at least five years since I've stepped foot in either store.
The latter is a sacrifice
But while my taste buds sorely miss that chicken, it's a small price to pay for standing up to bigotry.
As an alternative, I've taken to adding pickles to other chicken sandwiches. It helps a little. ;)
I used to like them too
but this is a really good, easy substitute: take chicken breast and rinse it, pat it dry and then pound it a bit to tenderize it with a meat mallet or whatever weapon you have handy. Mix some Progresso style bread crumbs (the ones with Italian herbs are nice) and some Kraft style parmesan cheese (not quite as much cheese as crumbs) and lightly coat them with olive oil then roll the chicken in the crumb mixture. Bake on a cookie sheet at about 375* until they're brown and the chicken is cooked through.
Add a pickle and a bun. Voilà!
Progressives are the true conservatives.
Thanks! Even I can do that
Although, I don't have one of those fancy mallet things, so I may have to use the butt of my shotgun...
HRC's ratings for 2013
http://www.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/CEI_2013_Final_low.pdf.pdf
Doesn't list every corporation out there, but with Ctrl + F you can quickly check on a lot of groups. Some are tricky though if you go looking for a corporation but it's listed under it's parent company. Still, it's worth a browse.
Boycotts
Wal Mart
Chik-Fil-A
Macy's
Papa John's
Applebees
I also avoid any store associated with Art
Pope. I also avoid Exxon (yes, I have along memory) and BP if other choices are available. I am glad that I stopped my once a week Papa Johns habit about a year ago. I will continue to avoid Chic Fil A. I don't like it, but I do shop at Wal-Mart very occasionally just 'cuz there are limited options in my part of the world.
On the flip side I try to support organic food producers and other healthy eating options.
Environmental Defense Fund
http://signon.org/sign/an-end-to-gerrymandering
Need to have a "best of the worst" - mine for gas is Sunoco
For gasoline, Sunoco is supposed to be the most environmentally friendly company by an analysis done a couple years ago that I found online (I believe by Sierra Club). This is based on spills per production unit, progressiveness of enviro policies, etc. BP used to be up there, but no more. I think Hess and Marathon are also on the good side, but not as high as Sunoco. If any alternative info, I'd be curious to hear if anyone has other info.
gasoline good and bad
Here is one place that discusses good and bad on gasoline
http://www.earthsfriends.com/environmental-gas-station
Divesting in Exxon
Back from the DO THE MATH tour in Durham, Bill McKibben and 350.org are calling for all investments by universities and other institutions to quit their support of fossil fuels. Since this is one effective way apartheid in S. Africa was stopped they are asking for all of us to help address climate change.
Progressives are the true conservatives.